free lunch and fun times

Hello my name is Aimee and this is a real life adventure...

(I've finally recovered from my last one.)

I am currently the Secretary of the Parks and Recreation Student Association. I am getting extremely excited for an event we are co-sponsoring with a group of students from Professor Rodriguez's PRM 301 class. The event is titled "Community Celebration" and that it will be. On April 16th the Civic Space across the street from the UCENT building will have its grand opening day celebration. To help this joyous occasion (us parks people really, really love parks) we are serving FREE lunch to ASU students and the local community. That's right, free food and good times for all. I am so excited to get to use the new park, and even more excited to see my peers shining faces out and about in our new space. What's even cooler is that you can watch the last bits of construction before opening day without having to go outside (but you should go outside anyway).

Use this sweet link to view the webcam of the Civic Space:
http://copp.asu.edu/do/college-news/fp2

Or you can take a sustainable tour of the Civic Space:
http://www.asu.edu/tour/downtown/civic.html

Your best bet will be to check it out for yourself on Thursday April 16th from 11:00am to 1:00pm. I can't wait to see you all there!

but i never went to bike academy

Hello my name is Aimee and this is a real life adventure....

... or disaster, rather.

Let me just preface this by saying that I believe individuals should have to go to a bike riding school, similar to driving school in order to own a bike. I would also like to point out that if this were a requirement, I would not be graduating from bike academy for quite some time.

This afternoon my suite mate and close friend, Sara and I decided to grab a coffee from Dutch Bros. one of the best coffee places in the vicinity of the Tempe Campus. As of late Sara and I have become quite consumed with bike riding, so naturally we hopped on our beach cruisers and headed down to the irresistible coffee stand. The journey there was a successful one and the insanity didn't start until after I received my skinny, iced, raspberry white chocolate mocha.

As already mentioned I am not too confident in my bike riding skills, so I was extremely nervous to be biking with one hand (the other was being used to hold my AMAZING coffee). As I was preceding down Rural road to the light rail stop I was almost hit by a car turning right into a parking lot. After lots of swerving and almost falling twice I continued upright to the light rail station. It was then I learned the valuable lesson that individuals driving cars with their windows up cannot hear my shrieks of fear, or me shouting obscenities after catching my balance. (Honestly, this may be for the best.)

I was screeching into the light rail station at the exact moment the light rail was. Unfortunately for me this meant I would have no time to lock up my bike and would have to take it with me on the metro if I wanted to be on time. I would like to interject here and confide with you that the muscles in my arms are nonexistent. If you have been on the light rail you already know that bikes are hung up on the metro. Since I have no upper body strength I cannot lift my bike onto the rack and so I must sit my bicycle in front of me. This seems to annoy most of the passengers in my vicinity, especially when there is room for my bike on the rack.

I have never been accused of being couth and graceful. It was quite difficult for me to get myself, my large sorority bag, my delicious coffee, and my beach cruiser situated on the fairly busy light rail car. After three minutes of moving and shuffling while making awkward faces I was settled.

(In bike academy you would learn how to do things with your bicycle like hang it from tricky racks on the metro and set it in confusing bike holders on the bus.)

Two or three stops after I had joined the mass transit headed downtown, others with bikes joined us. I was terribly embarrassed when a girl about half my size got on with her insanely cool road bike (it had zebra print handlebars which matched her red shoes and indie chic look) and lifted it into the bike rack. Not only did I feel even more ridiculous for not being able to put my bike with its other counterparts, I now had the attention of the entire car who undoubtedly were wondering why on earth I couldn't put my bike away as easily as her.

Somewhere between the 44th Street and Washington and the 24th Street and Washington I decided that putting my ipod on would be a good idea. Which would have been fine if I was organized. I was bobbing my head and swaying my shoulders to the sound of Nizlopi when I came to my stop. As I was making my much awaited exit from the metro my headphone cords caught on one of the bikes hanging in the ever-defeating bike rack. I didn't notice this until my breathing became restricted and I slammed my head into the bike seat of yet another hanging bike. The gentleman (which he was indeed not) across from me thought he would help me and my cruiser along by giving me a slight shove in the direction toward the door.

My oxygen flow came back after my headphone popped out of my ear allowing me to stumble out of the light rail car, barely avoiding two pedestrians and a small child. (At bike academy they would teach everyone that ipods and bicycles don't mix.)

I am now dreading the ride home tonight, as I will have to travel back to Tempe with my beach cruiser. Even if I make a fool of myself and get into several near death experiences I will celebrate (with Nizlopi, and my paper crown) upon arrival at Adelphi. Like Nizlopi says...

It's time to throw away your doubt
Throw away your blues
Wake up in the morning
Tear up the news

(I will also look up some information on a bike academy!)

curing the infection

I'd like to consider myself a somewhat serious student. I go to class, get good grades, and am involved in extra curricular activities. Despite my enthusiasm for the pursuit of higher education, I cannot help but find myself in a spring slump. Each day I find it increasingly harder to resist the urge to throw on my polka dotted bikini and skip class to lay out in the sun with my friends. Forcing myself to concentrate on assignments in my dorm room has proved impossible, and my body refuses to travel the well worn path to the library to seek silence. I am afraid that upon registering for my senior year I inadvertently signed up for a strong, stubborn case of senioritis.

Last Wednesday was one of the hardest days I have had in the longest time, academically speaking that is. I walked into my PRM 470 class completely unprepared to deliver an interpretive talk on hiking areas in the greater Phoenix metropolitan area. After a painfully embarrassing presentation made by myself and two other group members (also suffering from either spring slump or senioritis) I went home and cried. Literally. I am not usually the type of student to come to class unprepared, to hand in my homework incomplete, or forget due dates. The lack of preparation for this semi-important assignment put my academic goals back in perspective. I am now finding it somewhat easier to do my readings and study, if for no other reason than feeling absolutely terrible about my self-esteem and character for two days after the showcasing of my lack of preparation.

Let my sad, embarrassing story serve as a warning. Don't let the sunshine beam down on your face and make you too high. We've got just under seven weeks until finals, and in that time I will do my best to find the cure to put the spring into my step on my way to class, rather than slumping poolside with other juniors suffering from pre-mature senioritis.

Fantastic Attitudes Despite Furloughs

I am amazed at the attitudes of the staff and faculty at Arizona State University. With the institution facing over $88 million in budget cuts enrollment is being capped, programs are being eliminated or combined with others, in addition to staff and faculty taking furloughs. Despite this our professors have student’s best interest at heart. It made me feel warm inside to pick up the State Press on February 12th and read the opening headline "Some ASU Faculty Choose Less Pay in Lieu of Furlough".

Other great examples are right here in the School of Community Resources and Development. I just finished meeting with one of my favorite professors from last semester, Dr. Megha Budruk. Despite facing furloughs, she is continually encouraging me to explore research opportunities and has me aiming for goals I would have never thought possible. It is because of these dedicated individuals that Arizona State can truly offer quality in their programs, while being one of the largest universities in the country.

I encourage students to take the same attitude when faced with the negative factors of the current economic crisis. Now is the time to value your education and soak up the ambiance of these resilient professors. With even more budget cuts and tuition increases in the mix, these opportunities may prove to be farther and few between.

paper crowns and broken hearts

When I’m having a bad day I like to come home and put on a little Joshua Radin (he’s amazing-check him out) and if my roomies aren’t home I put on the cardboard tiara I kept from New Year’s and daydream about better days. I let myself get lost in thought about wonderful things. Lately I try to imagine myself grown up. Every time I peek in on my future self she’s doing something different. One day she is a gypsy in a field of flowers dancing to the music in her head. Another day she is in the middle of Rockefeller Center ice-skating underneath the giant sparkly Christmas tree. Today she is doing the exact same thing I am. Except her tiara is especially glittery and Mr. Radin is serenading her from the bottom floor of her third story apartment. I can’t quite see them, but I’d like to think she has stars in her eyes. For I believe that if they are indeed starry she has found happiness; in herself, in her family, in those who surround her.
Love has proven to be quite a sticky word. Not just the word itself, but all of the situations that come with the vague definition. I often wonder if such a delicate bond between two people is meant to last the test of time, or if it is simply like the glow of a firefly caught in a mason jar slowly fading into the night. I constantly worry about the opportunities missed because they presented themselves to a blind eye, but not as much as the opportunities passed up because of selfishness or confusion.
I fantasize about being brave. Riding in on the white horse of humility and slaying the dragon of pride, I will burst through the gate of uncertainty and kiss my prince passionately, offering my heart and undying love at his feet. But this is just another daydream. Instead I will sit in the melody of Joshua in my paper crown pretending that I am the one who needs to be rescued.

The Guy Knows What He's Talking About

Cronon's point of view is a unique one. Proposing that the idea of Wilderness is an American invention and is in fact existing not to preserve nature but to serve the elite is interesting. He argues "The removal of Indians to create an “uninhabited wilderness”—uninhabited as never before in the human history of the place—reminds us just how invented, just how constructed, the American wilderness really is." When you think about it Cronon brings up a valid point. I personally feel that I am not in Nature unless I am on a mountain top, in a national forest, or secluded from the industrial world. This reinforces his arguement of Wilderness being an American construct.
Cronon brings up another point, "By imagining that our true home is in the wilderness, we forgive ourselves the homes we actually inhabit." This is a great example of how we as a culture look negatively on our industrialized ways of living, and romanticize rural lifestyles. The American population looks over the Nature we have in our own backyard and focuses too much on the over-commercialized "Wilderness" we know today as our national parks and protected areas.

Civil Disobedience and Land Ethics

Earth First! a radical environmental group was originally founded with the intent of protecting the environment from destruction of wildlife habititats. The group participated in public stunts of protest like organizing a tree sitting. Many of the early protests were peaceful and did not cause harm or damage to anyone or anything. The group attracted members with an anarchist political background and soon evolved into the Earth First! group many are familiar with today. Some who were uncomfortable being associated with having this political view left the Earth First! group and started different organizations. Soon after, Earth First! began participating in sabatoge.

Personally, I can see myself being a founder of this organization. When I say that I refer to the group who had the original intent of protecting wildlife through peaceful means. While I am aware that it is civil disobedience the way the group was going about it was harmless to the environment and humans. Now that Earth First! is involved with sabatoge and eco-terrorism I would not identify with the group. I feel that participating in a peaceful demonstration is acceptable. Causing damage to private property, whether it be a piece of equipment or an actual business location, is inappropriate. Our country was founded on freedom and I feel that everyone has the right to express their feelings, however you lose that right when you can only express it in violent, harmful ways.

In high school I was always the first one to stand up for what I believed in no matter how menial the matter seemed. Now that I am older and more mature I understand that I cannot be an advocate for everything so I must dedicate my time and energy to what I feel is most important. As long as demonstrations or protests for the cause were peaceful and did not harm or damage people or property I would have no problem participating in them.